Once the Torch has been lit
by Pyrotessa Yin
Summary: This takes place after episode 2.11--"Redefinition" in which Darla and Drusilla were torched by Angel. Why did Drusilla leave Darla behind and go to visit Spike in Sunnydale? Find out.


Through the dim streets of Los Angelus, a woman hummed to herself quietly, stroking her burnt cheek gently with her long finger. She kept running the slim digit over the crisp flesh repeatedly, all the while humming. Finally, when she reached a certain note on the song, she twisted her thin nail into the seared flesh and dragged it down through the wound.  
  
The blood from her tearing at the flesh covered her clear nail, turning it a deep crimson color. She pulled it from the wound and began to giggle a bit as she looked at the blood that was slowly making its way down the pale flesh of her finger. She looked at it again, turning her finger slightly to view the delightful sight of blood from a different perspective.  
  
The woman eyed the sight and began to lick her lips as the blood trickled down the digit. After a moment of thought, she sighed and looked at her finger crookedly. To her, the blood looked as if it was running away from her, that it was afraid. She placed her free hand on her head and shook it slightly.  
  
"Everyone is running," she sneered at the blood on her finger. "Even you," she uttered in disgust. She bit her finger and sucked the blood from it quickly. As her body quivered from the on-coming vision that was running through her mind, she heaved and clutched her finger as if it were a person. "Why is he doing this," she asked with fear behind her eyes. The quivering continued, and she allowed a single tear to escape from her large eye. It ran down her cheek and then was caught in the wound that she had torn open.  
  
As the tear stung the open wound ever so slightly, the woman threw her head back and laughed, rubbing her belly gently. "The Tower has come," she began, and continued to laugh. "Why didn't I see it sooner, Father?" she called out into the darkness. Her knees buckled from under her and she fell to the earth below her feet.  
  
The woman reached out to ouch the dirt and grime which covered the wet streets. As her hands slowly glided through the grime and she began to hear the whispers of the voices that climbed in and out of her mind each day. She placed her ear to the ground, as if the voices were coming from it and uttered back, "Justice is not happy with you, Father… and soon the Hanged Man will come out to play in the games." She turned her ear back up from the street and sighed thoughtfully.  
  
"The Queen of Swords will join in the dance as well, Father… she's wants to hurt you," she called out into the darkness. She laughed again and began to pick herself up off the ground. As she stood her head began to spin again, filling her head with twisted thoughts once more. She began to sway from side to side, her eyes shutting. The voices all told her different things, and she could only catch glimpses of the future.  
  
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and the fear returned to her face once again. She shuddered at the thoughts that sprung through her mind. "What was that?" she questioned, not fully understanding what had been presented in her mind's eye. "The Queen on Swords will become the Empress?" Her brow was knit tightly in thought, and slowly, the laughter began to rule her body once more. "And the child, who will be the Sun, will only bring about Death to those around him. How delicious."  
  
She walked a few steps forward and sat down on the sidewalk. She placed her arms on her knees, and allowed her head to rest in her hands. She went back to humming the same song that she was earlier; only more eagerly this time, and she drummed her slim fingers on her cheeks.  
  
A rat tried to scurry past her, but she was able to catch it before it could run into the shadows. She held it in her hands, and kissed the rodent on the nose. Sensing the danger that it was in, the rodent squeaked slightly as she began to stroke it softly. She looked down at the creature in her hands, and smiled at it. "I have some time to kill before any of this happens, my dear. What shall I do with that time?"  
  
The rat squeaked again, and the woman brought it up to her ear as if the creature would spout words of wisdom into the lobe. "Of course," she thought, "I'll tell him about what I saw!" she cheered in delight and hugged the squeaking rodent. "I'm sure that there will be many games to play where he is as well." She nodded, having made what little of a mind she had up. She stood up, placing the rat on her shoulder as she brushed herself off.  
  
Once she was satisfied with how she looked, she turned her head to the rat that was sitting on her shoulder still. "Would you like to come with me? It would be rather boring for me to go alone." The rat sniffed at her long hair and she allowed a smirk to creep along her face. "You'll need a name." She began to walk out of the dark street as the racked her brain for a name for the creature that would be joining her on her travels.  
  
As she turned a corner to head to her new destination, she turned back to look at the trash that littered the streets. She smiled at the dead bodies that were strung about, and the little trails of blood that came from each body's neck.  
  
Another smiled tugged at the woman's lips. She turned to the rodent that was now cozy in her hair and she reached up to stroke the creature. "Sunshine. That'll be your name." She gave a nod to the rat and then spun on her heels and walked onto a different street.  
  
Her steps were the only things that could be heard on the street that night. She smiled and stroked the rat once more. "You know," she said casually to make conversation with her new companion, "I used to have a puppy named Sunshine. However, she died. I didn't like her much—her fur got stuck in my teeth."  
  
The rat let another cry out and the woman sighed. "Don't worry, Sunshine, we'll be there within a could of days. There's even a nice Slayer that you can feed on—after I do, of course." She chuckled at her own joke and then sighed, "Spike, my dear, here I come." 


End file.
